The field of this invention is high speed printing, and more particularly it involves a laser scanner transport which forms a part of a high speed tactical line printer. The printer comprises a transparent cylinder on the outside of which is wound an ink or dye impregnated carrier which is analogous to a typewriter ribbon, with the paper wound on top of the carrier. A modulated laser beam is directed from an external source along the axis of said transparent cylinder and is reflected from a moving mirror disposed at an angle of 45 degrees to the axis of said cylinder. The mirror rotates about its axis and simultaneously translates back and forth along the axis of said transparent cylinder to accomplish scanning of the carrier and paper by the laser beam. The beam is brought to a focus on the carrier by means of a lens. The laser beam thus makes a helical path on the surface of the carrier. When the laser beam strikes the carrier, it locally vaporizes a small amount of ink or dye thereon, which then recondenses on the cold paper to form the characters. The modulation of the laser beam is computer-controlled. Such a printer requires an electromechanical means to transport the scanning mirror back and forth within the transparent cylinder. This laser scanner transport is the subject of the present invention. The novel mechanism is designed to occupy a minimum of space, has minimum weight for its stiffness, includes a pair of self-contained drive motors, and is designed for a tracking accuracy of + or -0.002 inches, which is required in a printer of this type.